


Toes, Not Mistletoe

by thatwriterlady



Series: 25 Days of the Holiday Season [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Attraction, Broken Bones, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, Christmas, Dean Winchester Has a Crush on Castiel, Emergency room, Flirting, Flirty Castiel (Supernatural), Flirty Dean Winchester, Fluff, Gabriel is a brat, Hospitals, M/M, Medical Patient Castiel (Supernatural), Merry Christmas to Castiel, Nurse Dean Winchester, Star Wars References, prank gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28293585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Gabe's Christmas prank goes horribly wrong when he gives his brother a bowling ball in a box as a gag gift. It falls on Cas' foot and lands him in the ER. It's not all bad though, not when his nurse looks like he walked off the cover of GQ, and there's no wedding ring on his finger. A little flirting lands him a date with the gorgeous nurse. It's a VERY Merry Christmas for Cas!
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: 25 Days of the Holiday Season [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037259
Comments: 7
Kudos: 98





	Toes, Not Mistletoe

**Dec 19:**

**_Toes Not Mistletoe_ **

This was the worst possible thing that could happen on Christmas. It wasn’t where he wanted to be, and it definitely wasn’t what he wanted happening. Why,  _ why _ did his brother buy him a freaking  _ bowling ball _ for Christmas? And why was it not secured in the box Gabe had put it in so he wouldn’t  _ know _ it was a bowling ball. Had the ball just been wrapped as is, this wouldn’t have happened. He’d have been careful, opened it on the floor, but no, the idiot put in a box, with nothing to pad it, and the stupid thing had rolled out of the box and landed on his foot. 

Now he was sitting in a room in the ER with what he just  _ knew _ were three broken toes. It had happened half an hour ago and his foot was already so badly bruised his toes were purple. He wished he’d been wearing his shoes. Maybe then he’d just have bad bruises and nothing worse. Of course Gabe had gotten the sixteen pound one. He bowled with a thirteen pound. Gabe was just an idiot, thought he was playing the best prank ever. Now he was sitting in a chair beside the bed Cas was in, quiet as a church mouse. It was utterly uncharacteristic of him. He was too angry and in too much pain to yell at him anymore.

The nurse that walked in the room made him forget his pain for a moment. He was gorgeous and when he smiled it made his heart beat faster. The name tag on his scrub top said Dean. He was staring but he couldn’t help himself. He’d never seen a nurse that looked like this before. On instinct he looked to see if there was a ring on the man’s hand. Just about everyone that had ever taken care of him on previous ER trips wore wedding bands but there was nothing on Dean’s hand. Oh he wished he knew if the man was gay! He’d be thrilled if he was at least bi. Bi meant maybe he could be interested back, if he was more than just biromantic. 

“So, you broke some toes?” Dean asked as he leaned his hands on the bed rail and looked at Cas’ foot. “Ouch, how did that happen?”

“My brother,” Cas growled out the word brother as he jerked a thumb in Gabe’s direction. “Thought it would be hilarious to give me a bowling ball for Christmas. He put it in a box with no padding, so it rolled out and landed on my foot.”

Dean winced in sympathy and went to look at his toes. It was the last three. At least his big toe had been spared. “Well, an x-ray has been ordered and the tech will be down shortly to take you up. Is there anything I could get you in the meantime?”

_ Yeah, your number _ , he thought.

“Uh, water?” He felt lame saying that. Dean smiled and patted his shin gently.

“I’ll get that for you right now.” He moved the curtain aside and left.

“He’s cute.” Gabe spoke up. 

“Shut up.” He grumbled.

“Ok.” Gabe said softly, his eyes locked on his hands which he was ringing in his lap. He said nothing more.

The tech came for him before Dean came back and when he was returned to his room he was sad to see the water there waiting already. Dean had dropped it off while he’d been gone. Damn, would he get to see him again?

Med techs came and went, and a doctor arrived with his x-ray which she stuck to the light board so he could see his foot. He didn’t need to be a doctor to see the break in two of his toes. There was a hairline fracture in his pinky toe.

“You’re lucky they weren’t crushed. We’re going to wrap them and put you in a boot. They’ll heal faster and you’ll be less likely to reinjure them.” She explained. Cas gave his brother a dirty look and Gabe dropped his head further.

The doctor left the x-ray, then left the room. Just as he was wondering who was going to wrap his toes and put on the boot, Dean walked in. He had the boot in hand.

“Alright, so the doctor said your proximal phalanx in your third and fourth toes are broken,” He’d set the boot on the bed and was looking at the x-ray. “Looks like your pinky has a fracture too. Ok, so this won’t be fun. Nothing needs to be put back in place, but the wrap is going to hurt.”

“Just get it over with,” Cas sighed. Dean chuckled and patted his leg before going and fishing around in the drawers for what he needed. Once he had them, he got to work.

“So, this was a Christmas prank?” He asked.

“Yes. My brother thinks he’s a real jokester.” Cas replied as he side eyed his brother.

“My brother and I play jokes on each other too, but nothing like this. The worst thing either of us ever did was put itching powder in the other’s shorts. Well, ok, he dumped blue hair dye on my head once while I was sleeping. I had to shave my head and then scrub my scalp with rubbing alcohol so I didn’t have a huge blue patch. The remaining hair was blue though, so I had a blue patch for a couple of months. In the end I just got more dye and colored my whole head. Looked pretty cool for a while there.”

“Were you kids?” Cas asked.

“No, I was in my first year of nursing,” Dean laughed. “I wanted to kill him. Good thing they’re lax here about hair color, tattoos, and piercings.”

“You have tattoos?” Cas blurted. Dean had a while, long sleeve shirt on under his scrub top, so if he had any, they weren’t visible. Dean just smiled as he worked. Cas felt every bit of the pain but he was more interested in the nurse and what may or may not be on his body.

“I do. Nothing inappropriate, but I have some.”

“I do too.” Cas pulled up the pant leg on the side Dean was working on to reveal the one he had there. It was only a part of it though. The entire thing went all the way up his leg, from ankle to thigh. Dean’s eyes widened, and then so did his smile.

“Dude, you like Star Wars?”

“I love it. This is only a part of the tattoo. It goes all the way up to my hip. I have all of the characters I like.”

“That’s probably the coolest tattoo I’ve ever heard of. I have one of crossed light sabers on my chest. One red, one blue. Star Wars is my favorite.” Dean tapped his right pec to show where it was. Cas wished he could actually see it, but in a setting much more intimate than a hospital. Damn his mind was getting away from him.

“That’s amazing. I have Luke and Leia there,” Cas pointed to the part Dean could see. “Darth Maul here,” He reached down to touch his outer calf. “Darth Vader here,” He touched his inner calf. “Jabba the Hut here,” He tapped his outer thigh. There’s a lot more to it though.” He realized his tone sounded flirty. The way Dean cocked an eyebrow told him the man had picked up on it. He smiled wide.

“It sounds like it would be very interesting to see.”

Wait. Was he flirting back?

“It would be.” His tone was even flirtier. He was taking a chance. From the corner of his eye he saw his brother burying his face in his hand and shaking his head.

Dean got him fitted with the boot and though the pain was still intense, it was more a throbbing now than a sharp pain that radiated up his leg.

“So, now I’m curious. Do you have other tattoos?” Dean asked. Cas smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

“I definitely do. I love Doctor Sexy, so I have his boots here.” He tapped his right hip. But there are more.”

He definitely noticed the way Dean’s eyes darkened, and how he licked his lips. God his lips were so perfect. Dean moved further up the bed and leaned his arms on the railing casually. His happy smile was back in place.

“I never do this, like, ever, and I could get reprimanded for it but...do you want to go out sometime?”

“Oh  _ God _ yes!” He exclaimed. “Give me your number, I’ll text you tonight.”

Dean chuckled before rattling it off. He sent a quick text “Hi, it’s Cas” so Dean would have his number too. He heard it buzz in the man’s pocket.

“Got your text.” Dean said.

“Let me know when you’re free,” He said. “I’m free in the evenings.”

“I am too, I’m just covering for someone tonight.”

“Lucky me,” Cas smiled flirtatiously. Dean cocked that eyebrow again and smiled back.

“I was thinking the same thing about myself,” He stood back and patted the railing. “I have to get back to work. The boot has to stay on for four weeks. Wear it when you’re on your feet, but wear it in bed too, as it will prevent your toes from getting tangled in blankets or banged against things. You can loosen the straps though so it’s more comfortable. Try to spend a few hours a day with your foot elevated above your head. After the four weeks take it off and see how your foot feels. If the pain is still sharp, put the boot back on for two weeks, then try again. Keep your foot dry, and try to do baths, not showers, so you’re not stressing your foot and making it swell. In general, take it easy. I’ll figure out something where we can sit for our date, so your foot isn’t killing you.”

“Ok,” Cas felt almost giddy. “I’ll follow your instructions. The last thing I want is for it to take longer to heal.”

“Schedule an appointment with your doctor for within the next two weeks. They’ll change out the wrap and give you any further tips on taking care of your foot,” Dean touched his arm lightly before heading for the curtain. “See you soon.” With a wink and a flirty smile he was gone.

“How about that? You got a date with a sexy nurse that likes the same stuff you do,” Gabe said. “So this wasn’t all bad, right?”

Cas shot him another dirty look. “Shut up.”

Gabe kept his mouth closed after that.


End file.
